10,000 containers are expected to find their way back to port

Visakhapatnam: As shipping patterns through the Strait of Hormuz shift owing to growing conflicts in West Asia, the ports are expecting not just delayed shipments but also clearing decks to stack containers that are finding their way back from where they have been shipped.

Since the USA-Israel launched an attack on Iran, maritime traffic travelling through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a standstill.

Transits along the Strait of Hormuz have been dropped due to escalating conflicts in the region. Following which, a fleet of cargo ships were stuck in the Persian Gulf region.

According to industry estimates, about 10 percent of these ships, including gas carriers, oil tankers and vessels carrying bulk cargo are said to be Indian-flagged.

Global trade analysts forecast that the morethe conflicts in West Asia continue to escalate, supply chain disruptions, shortages and price hikes are bound to happen.

Back in Visakhapatnam, plans are on to offload cargoes returning from the Persian Gulf due to ongoing supply disruptions.

Customs department is likely to issue public notice outlining standard operating procedures (SoPs) to streamline the containers that are turning back and protocols to be followed for stacking.

According to port officials, the shipping lines are expected to transship the containers back to their original destinations once the passage through Strait of Hormuz is restored.

Apparently, Visakha Container Terminal Private Limited (VCTPL), a BOT operator of Visakhapatnam Port Authority (VPA), sought permission from the customs department to allow the terminal to accept additional containers for a smooth flow of cargo movement from VCTPL to Container Freight Stations under transshipment bond and to Visakhapatnam Port Authority’s custom-bonded area adjacent to the terminal.

As there is a shortage of yard space in the terminal premises and only limited transshipment containers could be accommodated, the VCTPL officials sought permission from the customs to offload the cargo returning from the Strait of Hormuz.

Also, the VCTPL has requested the port authorities for facilitating contingency space within the port area for storing the containers stranded in the Middle East.

According to sources, approximately 10,000 containers are expected to return from the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 percent of the returned cargoes comprise pharma products plus assorted seafood, while ferroalloys, other minerals and grains form a part of the rest of the containers.

Areas on either side of Vizag General Cargo Berth approach road, container scanner area and port's International Cruise Terminal area are some of the land parcels identified for stacking containers on a temporary basis.

While 10,000 containers are returning to Visakhapatnam Port, tonnes of rice which are supposed to be shipped to the Gulf are stranded in Visakhapatnam Port.